What Daniel loved most
by EvilQueensDaughterRapunzel
Summary: Daniel always had a thing for her hair but now after his death Cora will stop at nothing to get rid of very memory her daughter holds dear. Will Snow be able to save her?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a story I wanted for a long time and I´m happy to write it now. It was originally a prompt I had for a writer but the writer asked me to write it myself so here we are now. Hope you all like it and please review!...**

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><p>It had been a few days since she married King Leopold and she already felt how the darkness was tugging at her heart. All the young girl ever wanted was to be happy and free but now her life took a turn in the opposite direction. She was trapped unhappily locked inside the castle´s stone walls with her mother and the King constantly watching her. All hope was lost however she still felt love towards the girl who had ruined everything for her. She still felt sorry that the young princess had lost her mother and understood that Snow just wanted her to be her mother. Although she thought of herself more as a sister to her because of the very small age gap between them.<p>

It was a warm spring day when the young princess sneaked into her stepmother´s room and watched the older girl brushing her almost foot long hair. It looked so soft and glossy so she stepped further into the large room to get a better view. She thought it to be the most beautiful hair in all the lands and wished her own her hair was like this.

,,Regina? May I brush your hair? It is so pretty," the child suddenly found herself asking. The young Queen just nodded at the girl and handed her the brush. Not seeing any harm in it she leaned back and enjoyed how her stepdaughter ran the brush gently and carefully through her thick brunette locks.

The strokes she made were as careful as could be seeing as she was afraid to hurt her new stepmother and also a bit nervous. She had never done this before.

Regina enjoyed every bit of it. It was that moment she had experienced so often in her life but it only held importance in it with Daniel. The boy often sneaked in her chambers at night and would brush her long hair for her. In these moments she had been truly happy however now this happiness was gone. Pain was everything she could feel now. Even Snow couldn´t take that pain away from her although she seemed to do her best to make her stepmother happy. But all was in vain.

,,I wish I could be as pretty as you." Regina heard the younger girl mumble in wonder. The princess looked up to her and all Regina could think of was revenge. She really tried her best to not let her anger show but it seemed to get more difficult every day.

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><p><em>Flashback:<em>

_The sun was setting and the young princess got ready for bed. Suddenly she heard a noise at her window and went over to see what it was. It was Daniel, the stable boy, her lover. He always sneaked his way into her bedroom when he was sure Cora wasn´t there to intrude. They shared a passionate kiss before they went to her vanity to brush her beautiful long brunette hair. It was never cut before and for that he was grateful. Her hair was the only thing she had control over. Everything else was controlled by her mother. _

_She could never leave the small castle without her permission. She was trapped and Daniel was the only freedom she had. The young boy stole her heart with one single glance at her and with her it was the same. She captured his heart with a quick flick of her long eyelashes and a whip of her long hair. _

_When he was finished they kissed again and took comfort in each other´s arms. _

_,,I love you." He whispered before climbing out of the window and vanishing into the night. It was all she needed. This was her Happy Ending and not even her mother could take that away from the brown eyed beauty. _

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><p>,,You are, Snow. You are very pretty." She smiled at the girl and they both laughed. But unfortunately they weren´t alone. Cora was watching them with jealousy gleaming in her cold brown eyes. She knew what her daughter was thinking of and she needed to put an end to that. Seeing her never ending curls made her even more angry. She always hated her daughter´s hair and now it was just enough. She had endured this long enough. It was time to get rid of every good memory her daughter had left of her beloved Daniel. She needed to make a move. And she needed to do it quickly.<p>

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><p>It was night when the old witch sneaked into her daughter´s chamber and watched her sleeping for a moment. She looked at the long curls the girl seemed to love so much and snapped. Extending her hand she stroked it roughly and instantly woke the girl.<p>

Regina flinched at seeing her mother only inches away from her and knew this wasn´t a good sign. To say she was scared was an understatement. Her mother always unnerved her to the core but this was just plain creepy. Seeing her standing over her so tall and strong made her feel weak.

,,Hello, darling." The older brunette greeted her with a smirk etching her aging features. Regina was very nervous. She knew this wasn´t going to be good. Something just didn´t feel right about her mother.

,,Mo-Mother?!" the young girl stammered nervously and sat up. ,,What are you doing here this late?" she asked. Cora just smirked at her and took something out of her pocket. It was a big pair of scissors.

Immediately Regina want to run but Cora grabbed her hair and she fell onto the cold stone floor. As Cora kneeled down with her she thought about pushing her but decided against it since her mother was far to strong for her. Unlike her mother who was tall and big she was tiny, small and thin. She stood no chance against the older woman.

,,Mama, please! I´ll be good I promise. Just please don´t do this. Don´t cut my hair!" she cried but Cora couldn´t care less. Her daughter always got away without a haircut but now there was no escaping the scissors.

,,Because this dirty stable boy loved it so much? Because he loved it you shouldn´t have this. This time it will go my way, missy." With that she picked up the scissor and began to cut through the long rope of hair. There was no stopping the flood of tears now. Her hair was always there. It had never been cut and now it would be gone forever. Her mother would make sure of that. Not even her father could help her now. She was all alone.

More and more hair fell and her body was raging with violent sobs. This was her life now. A life without control. A life where her mother held all the power.

As the last curls fell to the floor Regina´s hair was so terribly short. It was barely touching her ears. Crying, the girl threw herself onto the floor, where her hair was now lying, and cried her eyes out.

With that Cora disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, leaving the weeping girl in her misery.

,,Regina?" she suddenly heard and looked up to see Snow standing in the doorway. ,,What did she do to you?" she asked stepping further into the room. This brought even more tears to her sad brown eyes. The young princess saw this and went over to hug her tightly.

,,How long did you stand there? How much did you see?" Regina questioned sobbing.

,,I saw everything. I couldn´t sleep so I came here to ask if I could sleep with you tonight. Why did she do that?" the small girl responded worriedly and hugged the older girl even tighter.

,,I don´t know, Snow. She just always seemed to hate my hair. Come on. You can sleep with me tonight, sweetheart." The young Queen said before standing up and leading the girl over to her big queen sized bed. Drabbing the covers over both of them. However she never got any sleep that night. Seeing her hair lying lifeless on the floor showed her what happiness and love would get her in the end. Her mother was right. Love was weakness!

**This was the first chapter! Hope you all liked it and please don´t forget to review! This is a two shot and chapter two will hopefully follow suit. **


	2. Chapter 2

**So here is the second part. It takes place in Storybrooke but one of you lovely readers asked me to do a scene where Snow cuts her own hair to show solidarity. Also I might do a sequel if you would like that. So please review!**

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><p><em>Flashback:<em>

_Slowly she opened her eyes but instantly shut them again due to the bright light in the room. This was odd. Normally her room would be much darker. As she opened her eyes again it dawned on her. She was not in the Enchanted Forest anymore. Carefully the brunette ran a hand through her hair only to find it short once again. With tears in her eyes she stood up and went over to a mirror. She had a pixie cut again. This was not how she thought her Happy End would be like, it was quite the opposite in fact. _

_The last time she checked her hair went again to her knees like when she was 15 and now it was exactly like it was after her mother cut it for the first time. It was terrible and she began to cry._

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><p><em>A few days later…<em>

_Regina still wasn´t over the fact that her hair was short now but she sought comfort in seeing Snow´s hair short as well. It was only fair in her eyes because she still blamed her former stepdaughter for her haircut and not her mother. She hated seeing her hair short while Snow was still able to have long, glorious hair. It made her even more mad and jealous. However one day while sitting at the breakfast table in the castle, shortly after her haircut, Snow walked in with short hair just like her own. Leopold had been furious and blamed his new wife for it but Regina was happy, at least for a few hours._

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><p><em>Present Day:<em>

It had been a few days since the candle incident in Gold´s shop and Cora was still alive thanks to True Love´s Kiss. However the tension between Regina and her mother was icier than ever. After finding out that Rumple was her real father Regina had fallen apart and was now lying on her bed.

,,Regina, please open the door. I´m sorry, sweetheart. I know I should have told you sooner but I didn´t know how. Please don´t shut me out again." Cora pleaded with her but the younger brunette made no move. She just couldn´t forgive her mother for what she´s done to her and her biological father.

,,Go away!" she shouted and the older woman sighed defeated. This was getting nowhere but her daughter was as stubborn as she herself was so there wasn´t much she could do. She could only wait for her daughter to make the first step. Cora has learned the hard way that pushing her daughter was never good.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and the older witch went down the long staircase to the foyer to see who it was. To her surprise it was Snow White. After what happened only days ago she thought Snow would be the last person to show up at her daughter´s mansion. Secretly she wished it would have been Rumple. She still had feelings for her former master however she knew that he didn´t feel the same for her anymore. He had Belle now although she did not remember him anymore. With her hands on her hips she glared at the former princess who avoided her gaze instantly. Cora always unnerved her even with her heart back in her chest now.

,,What are you doing here?" the older woman snapped at her step granddaughter who shrunk back and didn´t dare to look her in the eyes. She fumbled with her jacket, still not saying a word.

,,I-I wanted to… um I wanted to talk to Regina." She stammered nervously and after considering this for a moment Cora let her into the big white mansion. Snow had never seen the house from the inside and was amazed by the greatness of the mansion. It was nothing like her small apartment but still it felt like home. It was in every way Regina.

,,Regina! You have a guest!" Cora called up the stairs and shuffling was heard from upstairs. After a few minutes Regina finally came downstairs. Her face was tear streaked and pale, with dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn´t slept since the candle incident.

The former queen glared at Snow and sat down on the couch. ,,What do you want?" she snapped and again Snow shrunk back out of fear and nervousness.

,,Why?" the younger woman simply asked. Confused Regina just stared at her but Snow didn´t continue. ,,Why what?" she asked getting slightly frustrated with her stepdaughter.

,,Why did you make me have short hair during the curse?" she asked gesturing to her short pixie cut. Regina scoffed at that gesturing to her own short hair with tears gleaming in her big brown eyes.

,,I should ask you this question. It is your fault that my mother cut my hair off so many years ago. Because you told her about Daniel! Because he loved it so much and you couldn´t keep your big mouth shut! It is all your fault!" she shouted angrily with tears now falling from her eyes. She was just so angry now, reliving the moment of her lover´s death and losing everything he loved about her. Her smile, her kind heart and her long beautiful hair. Everything was lost now.

This brought tears into Cora´s eyes as well. Knowing that her daughter didn´t blame her for her actions but a completely innocent child made her feel so extremely guilty. Snow didn´t deserve it even though her mother ruined everything for Cora. Cora always wanted Snow to pay for Eva´s actions but now she realized her wrong she had been when she manipulated the poor girl.

,,Regina, stop. It isn´t her fault that Daniel died. Yes, she told me, but I already knew about your relationship before Snow knew. I only used her so that you wouldn´t be angry at me. I needed you to hate her. To make her pay for what her mother did to me." She admitted and Snow and Regina both looked at her shocked.

,,How did you find out?" was all Regina could ask in that moment. Now she was even more angry at her mother if this was even possible.

,,One day I watched you two in your room at night. He was brushing your hair and kissing you and I was just so furious. I didn´t understand how you could fall in love with a stable boy back then because I only saw power back then. Now however I think I was so angry because he got to touch you. I didn´t want to see my little girl being touched by any men. You were so young." Both Snow and Regina cried and sobbed trough Cora´s whole speech. Snow had always blamed herself for ruining her stepmother´s happiness and knowing that it wasn´t even her fault made it even more terrible.

,,I´m sorry!" Cora whispered and took Regina in her arms. They sat in silence for a few moments and just cried. ,,I may not be able to bring your Daniel back but I can give you something else back." Cora added and stroked her daughter´s cropped hair, suddenly her hand glowed purple and Regina´s hair slowly grew back. Startled by the sudden weight around her shoulders Regina sat up and looked confused between her crying mother and a suddenly smiling Snow.

When her mother´s hands stopped glowing, her hair was almost touching her knees like it did right before the curse took them all to Storybrooke. She finally had her long hair back and this time no one would take it away again. Not her mother nor a curse would ever take it from her again.

,,Thank you, Mama." Was everything she could say before she felt someone hug her from behind. Snow was so happy for her stepmother that she didn´t care about her own short hair anymore. Their happy moment was cut off by the doorbell and Regina went to see who it was this time.

Both Killian and Rumple stood on her front porch what confused her a bit. ,,We ran into each other a few moments ago." Her father explained glaring at the one-handed pirate. She nodded amused and let them into the house.

,,I´ve brought you flowers." Killian said and kissed her what confused both Rumple and Cora. Snow just smirked at Regina. ,,Your hair! It is long again. I´m so glad. You look so beautiful, darling." He continued which made it all the more confusing for the others in the room.

,,Thank you. Mama, Daddy, I have to tell you something." Regina announced happily. Both their hearts swelled with great pride at their daughter´s endearment. ,,Killian and I are ..um… together and we are having a baby." She smiled and laid a hand on her still flat belly.

Rumple thought he was making up stuff in his mind and took a look at Cora who seemed equally shocked. This was the least they had expected when Killian walked into the house. Cora was happy for her daughter while Rumple just glared at Hook. Of all the men in this town his daughter had to choose his arch enemy.

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><p><strong>So this was the second part you all waited for. Who wants a sequel? Just review and let me know what you think and if you want a sequel! Thanks for reading!<strong>


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